Have you ever wondered if any animals were as smart as us, or their thinking capacity can formulate thoughts like us.

Is it okay to change your clothes in front of your cat? It might be thinking about your body, as equally as another human. After all we are animals at the core of our being.

Just something i was thinking about.

Aquarius

11th Jul 2002, 03:05

Oooo, this could be an interesting topic.

Have you ever wondered why humans and dolphins have a few things in common, that they don't have in common with any other creature out there.

First, humans and dolphins are the only mammals/animals that can recognize their own reflection. Kinda strange, but hey, at least we know there aren't any vampire dolphins now. lol

Second, humans and dolphins are the only animals/mammals (had to mix it up this time!) that have sex for pleasure. Yeah, better keep an eye on Flipper now! lol :D

BTW, I always put my cat outside my room when I change. It just seems creepy. It's not like your cat's going to be judging you, thinking, "Wow! He/she is really putting on some weight lately!" (although you should probably we scared if your cat is thinking that). It's somewhat a matter of privacy (or for the British ppl out there, privecy lol) and your comfort zone.

GoranAgar

11th Jul 2002, 04:31

Are we really that smart?

Aquarius

11th Jul 2002, 04:54

Wooo, a political debate, I love these!! :D

In retrospect, no we are not. When there's still war over the pettiest things, and fascism, greed, and countless other things, we are not. How can we consider our selves to be the most superior beings in the world, and some even go as far to say the galaxy or universe, when the simplest problems cannot be solved. Look at the world right now, there are suicide bombings in the Middle East, hunt for Osama in Afghanistan, problems in the Phillipines and Africa. If the human civilization were truly that intelligent, we would find a way to resolve these problems. It doesn't matter if someone has better technology than whoever they are fighting. As long as there is fighting, neither side is at an advantage. Neither one is smart, because they cannot come to peaceful terms.

There is something I heard once that was the first thing to ever make complete and perfect sense to me. In 1952, when Dr. Albert Schweitzer accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, he said the following thing: (this is just a paraphrase, because the true thing is too long)

We have become so concerned with the problems of the world, that we have forgotten about the problems of the human soul and spirit

In this modern time, the biggest flaw of humankind, is ignorance. We desperately try to make this a better world, but that doesn't seem to likely now.

It seems that as the world advances, more and more problems arise. Technology allows for more gruesome ways to kill people. Why is it that warfare technology seems to have a higher priority over medical, or agricultural???

Think about this, if you look back in history, long before the Roman or Greek Civilizations, you see how peaceful everything had been. Granted, the people were trying to survive everyday, but they were peaceful. They appreciated what they had, and learned to use what they had to survive. They truly were the intellects. They had a knowledge that is probably the envy of many people in the world today.

Agricultural is a major technology that needs assistance. It could end so many problems throughout the world that result from hunger. My sister's fianceé was in the US Army when it was sent to Mogadishu, Somalia, where the events of the book 'Black Hawk Down' took place. We heard first hand accounts from him, about what it was like. Almost the entire city was out in full force to kill the Americans. Why? The city was (and probably still is) in a drought. Practically no food is grown there. The US had been dropping food shipments in to help the people, but Warlord Mohammad Farah Aidid confiscated the food shipments, and used it as a bribe to get the citizens of Mog to kill the Americans. He used this greatly to his advantage, because he was greedy for power.

How can we call ourselves a great civilization when there have been people like Warlord Aidid who will purposely starve people to death, so that it's for their own advantage?? We cannot.

As you can see, I am quite passionate about this.

LarzBritsh

11th Jul 2002, 05:23

I've always wondered if this goes on in the animal kingdom.

Do animals react or become influenced by greed or envy? Do they make stupid decisions?

Humans can be said to do extremely stupid things, but aren't we a superior life form? In all the stupid things we've done, those things were not done by anything or anyone else.

We've wiped out entire species, we've polluted the Earth for decades, we've killed each other by the masses. Can you say the same for anything in the animal kingdom.

Those can be said to be "feats", but doesn't that tell you anything about the power of humans, and that sometimes we are too smart for our own good.

Is it right to say we are stupid when we've "accomplished" so much in the little time we've been on this Earth, not to mention our evolutionary past.

cjhilljack

11th Jul 2002, 06:39

Originally posted by Aquarius
Oooo, this could be an interesting topic.

Have you ever wondered why humans and dolphins have a few things in common, that they don't have in common with any other creature out there.

First, humans and dolphins are the only mammals/animals that can recognize their own reflection. Kinda strange, but hey, at least we know there aren't any vampire dolphins now. lol

Second, humans and dolphins are the only animals/mammals (had to mix it up this time!) that have sex for pleasure. Yeah, better keep an eye on Flipper now! lol :D

Don't monkeys see their own reflections too?

And what about that crocodile guy that says crocs have foreplay? I find this especially interesting since they are reptiles and seem so cold and uncaring.

One more interesting thing about the animal world - wolves. They are very good parents and the whole pack raises the offspring together (remember Hilary Clinton and her whole "it takes a village" theory?

CyCro

11th Jul 2002, 16:10

Uhmmm...ok, we are not animals. No animal can discuss philosophical subjects on an Internet forum! :p

Aquarius

11th Jul 2002, 22:56

Animals will kill or do whatever else they do, so they can survive. People, will kill out of greed, jealousy, fear, and who knows what else.

Animals do not kill my the masses, only humans do that, whether killing of entire species, or trying to commit genocide. I.e., Hitler and Slobadon Milosivich.

Prelude

11th Jul 2002, 23:22

Ok, my cat sleeps all day, makes me buy the most expensive food, and eats whenever it feels like it, even to the point where it jumps on my head in the morning becos it’s hungry, then it goes out cavorting all night, comes in in the morning jumps on my head, gets me out of bed, to feed it, then it sleeps all day…..meanwhile I go out to work flog my guts out all day, come in in the evening, knackered, just to earn enough money to buy the most expensive food for my cat!……and your asking me which one of us is the more intelligent??????

rocconorth

12th Jul 2002, 01:17

In Tomb Raider III those eagles in Nevada always manage to sneak up on me from above so they must be smarter. :) I just wanted to give this thread a TR connection.

LarzBritsh

12th Jul 2002, 02:03

So are you saying that we separates us and lets us do all that horrible business, is that we have more complex emotions that control us?

Or is it that we are the animals that think abstractly the most.

I can swear that once i got another cat, my old one entered the Terrible Twos. Is it jealously? or just competition for resources?

I've read many abstract books and magazine articles proving that animals do react/kill on emotions, but those magazines are books are a little too abstract for this issue.

LarzBritsh

12th Jul 2002, 02:16

But you are right,

It is unrealistic to think that animals would "kill by the masses" or "wipe out entire species".

i once thought that animals only acted on instinct to survive.
Perhaps we are the only species that act more through emotion/reason, than instinct.

nanakki

18th Jul 2002, 21:10

Originally posted by LarzBritsh
Perhaps we are the only species that act more through emotion/reason, than instinct.

i doubt it. "reason" as we know it only came about 200 years ago. before then, humans were far more traditional and religious. i fail to see any real difference between humans and animals.

btw: there a debate of this kind raging over in the community chat room if you want to join in the fray ;)